


First Love

by Scor_pio



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - College/University, Best Friends Byun Baekhyun & Kim Jongdae | Chen & Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Best Friends Kim Jongin | Kai & Oh Sehun, Books, Bookstore Owner Minseok, Byun Baekhyun Being a Little Shit, CBX, College Student Jongin, Dancer Kim Jongin | Kai, First Dates, Fluff, Jongin loves reading Poetry, Kim Jongdae | Chen is a Little Shit, M/M, Minor Byun Baekhyun/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Mutual Pining, Romance, Shy Kim Jongin | Kai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:15:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25301476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scor_pio/pseuds/Scor_pio
Summary: I want my first love in this store.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 13
Kudos: 31
Collections: Kaifectionery Round 4





	First Love

**Author's Note:**

> So this was for my first fest and I finished this an hour before it was due.  
> My best work comes out when I'm pressured. I hope the prompter enjoys this huge cloud of fluff.  
> I had a lot of fun with this and I hope that you also enjoy this too.

Here he is again, his favorite customer always sitting on the couch and reading poetry books instead of studying.

Minseok has been watching this college boy since he walked inside his bookstore “First Love”. Students from the University nearby usually go to the school library to study and usually come inside his bookstore to find a book to read or for an assignment. 

It was a bit of a surprise to find the tall student coming to read poetry instead of studying. He comes in every day, no matter the weather, and sits on the couch and reads a book from the poetry section.

He sometimes buys a book from the poetry section after he finishes reading it. He has no problem with it, it’s just...why his bookstore?

Minseok got new book delivery, some that were ordered for a certain person to come to pick up and others for the shelves. He usually has his co-worker helping him with the register but he’s sick today.

There aren’t a lot of customers either, with the cold winter air, he doubts anyone is going to go outside. The tall college student is an exception for some reason, it's like there’s nothing that would stop the boy from entering his bookstore at exactly 2 PM.

He got some new books for the Poetry section, deciding that he’ll sort those first. Humming along with the peaceful music, he sorts the books on their appropriate shelves. The bell on the door chimes as someone comes in.

Peeking his head out of the shelves, Minseok smiles when he sees his brother Junmyeon. “I’ll be with you in one sec.” He says as he puts away the final book.

Walking up to the counter and grabbing a pile of books from underneath, he hands them over. “Here you go.” He crossed off his name on the list.

“Thank Min, I needed these for a lecture in a couple of weeks. I’ll text you if I need anything else.” Junmyeon says and he walks towards the exit. Minseok nods his head and waves goodbye before hearing the door close.

He goes back to organizing the books with the quiet hum of music in the background. When he finished putting the books away in the fiction section, he heard the bell ringing on his desk.

“Coming.” He calls out and quickly walks over to the other side of the store. He sees the college boy holding the book he was reading and waiting at the counter.

“If Not, Winter?” He says as he scans the barcode on the back of the book. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty good.” He takes out his wallet and gives him the money.

“Thank you. We just got new books today so you can check those out.” Minseok says and the male hums.

“Do you also have ‘A Poem For Every Night of the Year’ by Allie Esiri?” Jongin asks as he grabs his newly bought book. Minseok thinks for a moment before he nods.

“Yeah, I think I do. By Allie Esiri?” Minseok walks out from behind the counter and towards the Poetry Section that Jongin always heads towards. 

“Yeah” Jongin blushes when he sees Minseok smile slightly at him. Minseok looks through the E’s but doesn’t see the title on the shelf. 

“I’ll go check if we have the book in the back. I still haven’t put all the books on the shelves.” Minseok walks to the back and looks through the poetry books organized in a pile. He finally catches his eye on the book and smiles when he sees it’s in good condition. He walks out of the back and hands the book to Jongin waiting at his usual spot on the couch.

“Here it is. Do you want to purchase this one too?” Jongin’s nod answers his question as he walks to the register. He scans the book and when he receives the cash for it, he hands it over

“Have a nice day...” Minseok looks at Jongin.

“Jongin. Kim Jongin.” Jongin shyly responds with slight dust of pink on his cheek.

“Have a nice day Jongin.” Minseok waves at the college boy exiting his bookstore.

⥈⥈⥈

Today was a busy day. College students came to his store to buy books or find a place to study for exams. He figures that the library and cafes nearby are packed with students. He was thankful that Jongdae and Baekhyun were working today. Baekhyun and Jongdae, both being extroverts, helped him a lot. 

Minseok was about to go to the back to grab his lunch when he saw Jongin waiting at the counter. He thinks his lunch can wait when he sees the boy looking around quickly. He walks to the tall student and smiles when he reaches him. 

“Is there anything I can help you with?” He asks as he stares at Jongin’s glasses slowly sliding off his nose. He knows that the college boy was cute from afar but he was better from a close-up view.

“Do you have ‘Fahrenheit 451’?”

“Ray Bradbury?” Minseok asks and Jongin nods. “We have it.” He says as he walks to grab the book on the shelf.

“Here you go.” He says as he hands the book over. The book isn’t a poetry book, which is strange. “Studying?” He asks.

“Yeah. There were no more copies in the school library so I thought that you would have one.” Jongin says.

“It’s a bit strange to watch you hold something that isn’t a poetry book,” Minseok says lightly. Jongin smiles and nods.

“I agree, it’s quite strange for me too.” 

Minseok was about to say something before he heard the bookstore door open loudly. He flinched at the sound and turned around to see Junmyeon walking towards them.

“Minseok, did you get the books that I ordered? I need them for tomorrow.” Junmyeon pants as he holds Misneok’s shoulders. He slowly takes off Junmyeon's hands on his shoulder as he nods slowly.

“Yes, I do. You could have simply asked like a normal person without being dramatic.” Minseok says as he takes one last glance at Jongin. “Well, see you at another time.” 

Jongin simply waves at him. Minseok turned away right at the exact moment that Jongin’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.

⥈⥈⥈

Like every other day, it was quiet inside the bookstore. A cafe opened next door yesterday and they make amazing coffee and pastry. The owner was very nice and sweet, the Chinese man, Yixing, even gave him a free cookie for being neighboring workers.

Baekhyun was in the cafe for his break and Minseok was sure that the younger was flirting with the owner. He looks at Jongin sitting on the couch comfortably reading his book, poetry of course. 

He feels a harsh poke on his side and he turns around with a glare, knowing the culprit. Baekhyun’s mouth was in his boxy smile and looked at him like he won the lottery.

“What?” Misneok questioned and Baekhyun slung his arm around his shoulders.

“I got Yixing’s phone number,” Baekhyun smirked and looked at the college boy reading.

“You should follow my example. It can get you in a relationship.” Minseok pushed Baekhyun away from him and walked toward the counter, ignoring Baekhyun’s ‘motivating’ relationship advice.

  
“Your loss if you don’t make a move. Imagine how he looks beneath those sweaters of his.” Baekhyun whispers near Minseok ear, which makes him receive a smack from the older.

“Can you not?” Minseok says as he crosses things off the to-do list.

“Fine,” Baekhyun walks away from him and heads towards the back room. “Not my fault if you want to be an old, lonely man with a shit ton of cats.”

Minseok rolls his eyes and smiles when he thinks about Tan. Tan is his baby and he won’t let Baekhyun’s words get to him. He can be happy with just him and Tan.

He hums along with the soft ballad playing in the store. He keeps looking at Jongin, looking so peaceful on the couch. He looks through his emails and he hears the bell chime. He looks up and he sees a tall man walking towards Jongin.

Jongin looks up from his book and smiles at the other male. The newcomer had a very intimidating stance, the way they carried themselves while walking. Jongin puts his book down and makes space for his friend. Minseok thinks that’s his friend.

He goes back to checking his emails and answering phone calls. He didn’t notice the stares from the two college students and the light whispering between them.

“So that’s the guy.”

“Sehun please don’t start.” Jongin begs.

“I can see the appeal but do you know if he’s single? I bet you do with how much time you spend here.” Sehun teases. He looks at the older male, looking over the books and checking his computer. “He could also be your sugar daddy.”

“Shut up.”

Sehun laughs at Jongin’s pink ears. “Well, now that I’m here, I’m going to find a book I’ve been trying to read for some time now.” He stands up and walks towards the man behind the counter.

He stands in front of the man and he watches Minseok lift his face. The man has such a pretty face, really youthful and elegant. He could see why Jongin was attracted to this guy, appearance-wise.

“Do you need any help finding something?” Minseok asks.

“I’m trying to find the books by Rick Riordan.”

“The Percy Jackson Series?” Minseok asks, his head tilting to the side.

“Yes, that one.” 

“Follow me.” Minseok motions for the college student to follow him. “Have you read the series before?” He asks as he walks by the shelves.

“Nope, was never interested before. I only really wanted to read it now because my friends always tease me about it.” Sehun pouted, which earned him a slight laugh from the other.

“I know people that have never read the Harry Potter series before, so I think you’re fine.” Minseok pointed at the books on the shelf. “These are the Percy Jackson series. You can read them here or you can check out the entire series.”

“Thank you, I’ll buy the series if that’s fine.”

Minseok nods his head. “That’s perfectly fine with me.” The walk back was silent. Not the uncomfortable silence but the calm silence. 

When they reached the register, Minseok took the books and scanned them. He looked at the tall male and the question inside his head kept pestering him to ask. “Are you good friends with Jongin?”

The question made Sehun perk up a bit. “Yes, best friend’s actually.” 

“That’s nice. I’ll give you a discount. Any friend of his is welcome here.” Minseok says as he pins it in.

“Oh, thank you.” Sehun bows and accepts the bag full of books and his receipt. He hears a shout coming from the employee room and a short man with puppy eyes comes running out.

“Minseok, I think I lost the Pile 3! I can’t find them anywhere.” He managed to catch not only Minseok’s attention but the two college boys.

“How do you lose a pile of books?”

“I have no idea. I think they ran away.”

Minseok scoffs. “Books don’t have legs.”

“You never know. It was the fantasy pile. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were enchanted or something.”

“I swear, you need to stop reading so many fairy tales.”

Baekhyun gasps. “You own a bookstore and you’re telling me to stop reading? I am offended.”

Minseok rolls his eyes and shoves Baekhyun back to the employee room. “Let’s go find those books that  _ ran _ away.”

When the two workers walked into the back room, Sehun turned around to face Jongin. “I approve.” He just laughs when Jongin groans out and smacks his head against the cover of his book.

⥈⥈⥈

It’s exactly a minute after 2 and Jongin wasn’t in his usual place. Now, this is strange for Minseok because as far as he knows, Jongin never missed a day. He came by when he was sick, when the weather told everyone to stay at home, and when he looked seconds away from passing out.

Maybe it was an emergency? Minseok spent the entire day wondering where Jongin was. It shouldn’t be a big deal but for his favorite customer to suddenly not show up was worrisome.

The day passed by and it was time for Minseok to close the store. Jongdae bid him goodbye and a little encouragement that Jongin would appear tomorrow.

But Jongin didn’t show up tomorrow either, or the next day.

⥈⥈⥈

It’s been an entire week since Jongin visited. Baekhyun and Jongdae can see how Minseok’s mood fell and the hope in his eyes whenever the door jingles. 

They tried to cheer him up with crappy dad jokes, they stooped that low to make Minseok laugh, but that didn’t work. They brought him an Americano from his favorite coffee shop, which was quite expensive and they could hear their wallets cry, but it only made Minseok smile a bit.

⥈⥈⥈

Jongin was running the fastest he ever ran in his life. His thighs and feet hurt so bad but he had to make it to the bookstore. He didn’t know how he’s going to explain his absence but he’s going to figure something out.

He looks through the window and sees Minseok’s co-worker on the counter. Jongin preferred to confront Minseok, but Jongdae was better than Baekhyun. He walks through the doors and the bell chimes. They both stare at each other until Jongdae yells loudly.

“I swear to god, the only day that he isn’t here, you arrive.” Jongdae drags his hands down his face, accompanied by a loud groan. “You better sit your ass down and explain why you weren’t here for an entire week.” Jongdae pointed at his usual spot.

Jongin moves to his spot quickly and takes a seat across from the older. Jongdae simply stares at him, which isn’t doing anything helpful. “Uhm, my explanation is well, I have a dance recital in a few days and our teacher was making us practice for hours to perfect it.” He looked at the potted plant at the corner of the store, it looked really interesting.

“I see, well I understand but why didn’t you stop by and tell Minseok at least, he’s been down in the slumps?” Jongdae smirks when he sees Jongin’s face burst into a pretty pink.

“Well, practice ends late so the store was already closed by then. I also have classes early in the morning, so I couldn’t come to visit either when the shop isn’t open yet.”

“Well, aren’t you cute. I could see why Minseok likes you.” His smile widens when he sees Jongin’s entire figure stiffen and he could see smoke escaping his ears.

“He-he likes me?” Jongin asks with a squeak in his voice. Oh, he wasn’t prepared for this.

“Oops, did I say that. Oh well, now you know.” Jongdae shrugs as he stands up from his seat. “Minseok’s going to be here tomorrow. He likes Marshmallows and Iced Americano.”

He walks away from the burning student with a smile on his face. He deserves to be the best man at their wedding.

⥈⥈⥈

Minseok arrived to open the door to the bookstore, with a tired smile on his face. Today was going to be a bad day and he knew it. His alarm clock broke, he forgot to buy groceries, he forgot to do his morning jog, he didn’t have his morning coffee, it was just bad.

He needed to organize the books in the backroom and put them on the shelves. He needs to contact authors for 'meet and greets'. So much to do for a bad day.

“Hey boss, how are ya? My date went perfectly yesterday.” Baekhyun yelled as he stepped foot inside.

“Great.” Minseok murmured as he stared at the computer screen.

Baekhyun looked at Minseok and decided that today wasn’t going to be a good day.

⥈⥈⥈

2 o’clock arrived and Minseok wasn’t expecting the door to chime. Baekhyun was standing next to him, waiting for the time to console his friend. To both of their surprise, the bell chimed and in came the honey skinned man with a pack of marshmallow and a cup of iced americano.

Baekhyun gaped as a wide smile bloomed on Minseok’s face at the sight of the other man. An entire week of effort gone to waste. Jongin was walking towards them and smiled at Minseok and bowed slightly at Baekhyun.

“Hello Minseok, I’m sorry that I was absent for a while. I was practicing for one of my dance recitals and our coach was going pretty hard on us. I came yesterday but you weren’t here.” He puts the marshmallows and iced americano in front of Minseok. “Jongdae told me that you like marshmallows and iced americano. He also said that you were quite sad that I didn’t come, sorry about that.” Jongin’s face was red, bright red and Baekhyun was holding his breath to stop himself from laughing.

Minseok flushes pink. Jongdae told Jongin that he likes marshmallows and iced americano and told him that he was sad because of him. He’s going to kill him. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

Jongin was holding a small slip of paper, looking at it occasionally before he decided to hand it over to Minseok. “Uhm, just in case anything similar happens, here’s my number.”

Before Minseok could say anything, Jongin walks over to his usual spot and takes out a book from his bag. Minseok looks at Baekhyun, who was watching the entire scene happen in front of him. They both stared at each other before they quickly ran to the employee room.

Jongin pretended he didn’t hear the loud yells from the two men while he continued to read his book with a smile on his face.

⥈⥈⥈

Jongin was contemplating whether to text Minseok now or tomorrow. Minseok is probably asleep at this hour. He rolls over to his side and stares at his best friend.

“Sehun, should I text him now or tomorrow?” The other college student stops scrolling through his phone and looks over at him.

“What are you even going to text him?”

“If he wants to go on a date with me?”

Jongin slowly watches Sehun’s brain digest the information before his face morphs into astonishment. He quickly gets out of bed and walks over to his side of the room. “Where the fuck did you get the courage to ask him out?”

Jongin looks at the icon of Minseok’s contact. The last message he sent was a smiley face and that was three hours ago. “Jongdae told me that Minseok likes me.”

Sehun stares at his best friend before waving at the phone. “Go on, ask him.”

Jongin goes ahead and texts him. Sehun was looking over his shoulder and giving out a few hums. He drops his phone when he finally sends it and turns to look at Sehun. “I’m just embarrassing myself at this point.”

Not even a minute later, they hear a ding coming from Jongin’s phone. Looking at each other, they both try to grab the phone and look at the message.

**Jongin:**

**Are you interested in going on a date with me?**

**Minseok:**

**Sure.**

**Do you have a place in mind?**

“Jongin, you have to take him to the cafe that Kyungsoo works at with the cute desserts.” Sehun tells him and Jongin nods.

**Jongin:**

**We can go to a small cafe that I know.**

**They have cute desserts and great coffee.**

**Minseok:**

**That’s perfect.**

**I’ll meet you in front of the bookstore on Saturday at 3?**

**Jongin:**

**That’s fine.**

**See you then.**

“Oh my god, I just did that.”

“Yes, you just did that.”

⥈⥈⥈

Minseok was dressed a bit nicer on Saturday. Of course, he had to work earlier but Jongdae and Baekhyun were there to keep the store running. Waiting outside, he tried looking for the cute college boy. A few minutes passed until he saw Jongin wearing a cute sweater with a teddy bear on it.

“You look nice.” Minseok said as he smiled at the younger.

“You too.” Jongin blushed as he looked at the older. He looks quite nice with a black fitted T-shirt and jeans. Even though it looked quite casual, the look brings out his best features. “Follow me, I’ll show you the cafe. It’s a couple of minutes away from here.”

Minseok hums and follows Jongin. “Are you on the dance team at SMU?”

Jongin nods. “I’m a dance major, dancing is my passion.”

“That’s very admirable. Have you won any competitions?”

“Yeah, I went to nationals in high school. I hope that our school makes it.”

“I don’t doubt it. If you enjoy it then that’s all that should matter.”

“Wise words from a wise man.” Jongin quotes.

“I’m not wise, I just quote the words from books.” Minseok says as they walk by people and families.

“Well, here it is, Sweet Lies. My friend Kyungsoo makes the desserts here and they’re really good. The coffee here is really good too.” Jongin opens the door, letting Minseok step in first.

The cafe smelled sweet, not headache-inducing but calming. The temperature was a bit on the cooler side but not shivering. There were families, college students, and elders sitting around and enjoying their pastries and a cup of coffee.

“I like the atmosphere.” Minseok says as he walks inside.

“I came here every day to study and read before I started to visit your store.” Jongin led them to a table next to the window. The view was quite nice, it was located near a park.

“Why did you start visiting? This place is quite nice.” They both took their seats and looked at the menus that were shown on the table.

“Don’t laugh but I was looking for a book to read and I saw your book store was near this cafe, so I decided to check it out. I thought the storefront was quite interesting, ‘First Love’.”

“Well, I always considered books to be my first love. I thought it was also an eye-catching name.”

“I agree. So, Jongdae was at the counter and I saw you stacking the books in the poetry section and I thought you were attractive so I kept coming just to see you. Now that I hear myself, I sound like a stalker.” Jongin hides his face in his hands when he hears Minseok laugh across from him.

“Thank god I wasn’t the only one.”

Jongin brought his face out of his hands. “Huh”

“I thought you were pretty cute and charming whenever you came to read poetry.” Minseok admits as he scans through the pastries and drink selections.

“Well, that’s nice. We’ve been pining for each other the entire time.” Jongin laughs. A waiter was walking towards them and Jongin immediately noticed that it was Chanyeol. 

“Hello I'm Chanyeol, what can I get for you?” Chanyeol’s smiles as he waits for them to answer. His naturally wide eyes widen even further when he recognizes Jongin. He looks at him and then at Minseok. 

“Can I get an Iced Americano and Marshmallow Puffs.” Minseok says and Chanyeol quickly writes it down. 

“I’ll get a Latte with some Chocolate Pudding Cake.” Chanyeol hums.

“I’ll get your drinks and desserts in a bit.” He gives a glance at Jongin before walking away with their orders.

“Say, what made you ask me out? Not that I doubt that you like me.” Minseok asks.

“Jongdae told me that you liked me.” Minseok looks at him, his mouth gaping. “I came the day before and you weren’t there, but Jongdae was so we talked.”

“I’m going to kill him when I see him.”

“But without him, I wouldn’t be able to ask you out.” Jongin explains.

“I bet he’s going to say something stupid tomorrow at work.” Minseok whispers.

They talk idly, sharing things about each other. Their food arrives with Chanyeol smiling a bit too widely for Jongin’s comfort.

“Here are your orders. I hope you guys enjoy it.” He walks away, giving Jongin a hidden wink.

Jongin rolls his eyes at the giant. “I’m going to end him.” 

“Who, Chanyeol?” Minseok asks as he takes a sip of his Iced Americano. “This is good.”

“Yeah, him. We live on the same floor in the dorms. I didn’t think he was gonna work today. Sorry about that.” Jongin scratches the back of his neck.

“Don’t worry about it, you had to deal with Baekhyun and Jongdae at the store. I doubt anyone else can be worse than those two.” Minseok says as he takes a bite of his Marshmallow Puff. His eyes widen at the fluffy texture. “This is delicious.”

“I’ll tell Kyungsoo that you enjoy it.” Jongin says as he takes a bite of his cake.

⥈⥈⥈

They talked for hours, about their childhoods, their favorite book, favorite artists. When it was time to leave, Minseok insisted on paying. Jongin agreed only if he was paying for the next date.

Those words made Minseok so happy, knowing that there was the possibility of having another date. 

Jongin was silently hoping that there would be a second date and that he didn’t jinx it.

The walk back to the dormitory was serene. The sun was setting behind the buildings and the people were slowly transitioning from working to relaxing. They walk past street vendors, selling figurines, jewelry, snacks, and other objects. 

Minseok caught Jongin staring at a small teddy bear keychain that the vendor was selling. He walks over to the vendor and asks how much the small teddy bear keychain was worth.

He walks back to Jongin, who was watching him interact with the street vendor. “Here. I saw you staring at it and this is my gift for you.”

Jongin slowly grabs it from the other’s hands. “Thank you, I like bears. Now I feel like I need to give you something in return.”

“You don’t need to do that. I did that on my own without you telling me to.”

“Fine.” Jongin pouts and Minseok smiles warmly at the younger.

⥈⥈⥈

They arrived at Jongin’s dormitory and Jongin didn’t want the date to end. He genuinely enjoyed the other’s company. “Here it is. Thank you for going on a date with me.” Jongin shyly says as he stares at Minseok.

“I also enjoyed the date. If you want to return the favor, you can go on a second date with me.” Minseok asks the college student.

“I’d like that. A lot.” Jongin confesses.

“Text the details later?” Minseok questions and Jongin nods.

“Yup.” He takes out his student ID and slides his barcode. The door opens and he turns around to face Minseok. He decided to be brave and gave Minseok a peck on the cheek.

Minseok's cheeks flush pink as he stares at Jongin in awe.

Jongin on the other hand walks through the doors quickly, his face redder than before.

Minseok stood outside the dormitory with a smile on his face. He slowly walks back to his apartment with a single thought in his head. 

_ I want my first love in this store. _


End file.
